


Falling With You

by clandestinemeetingsinthetrees



Series: ZK Drabble December 2020 [11]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Ice Skating, Southern Water Tribe, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:01:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28281342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clandestinemeetingsinthetrees/pseuds/clandestinemeetingsinthetrees
Summary: Katara teaches Zuko how to ice skate. Written for ZKDD2020 day 11
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: ZK Drabble December 2020 [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2040542
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17
Collections: ZK Drabble December 2020





	Falling With You

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys so I'll preface this by saying I'm not really an ice skater but I do roller skate and at least in my experience that's really similar to ice skating so I'm basing most of Katara's teaching strategies on what I teach in my learn-to-skate class. Hope you guys enjoy this Christmas Eve Eve treat!

“I don’t know if this is a good idea Katara…” Zuko teetered hesitantly on the bank of a frozen lake, wobbly on the blades of a pair of ice skates.

“Oh come on, Zuko! I’ve been doing this since I was a kid, it’s really not that hard.”

Katara stepped onto the ice with a practiced ease and skated a quick lap. Her feet crossed effortlessly over one another, and she stopped in front of Zuko with a quick turn to the side. “Here,” she reached out her hand, “I’ll show you.”

Zuko really didn’t want to make to make a fool of himself in front of his girlfriend, but he also didn’t want to disappoint her so, reluctantly, he took her hand. She led him onto the ice and he immediately felt his feet slipping away from him. He panicked and started flailing his free arm to maintain balance and before he knew it hit his back hit the floor with a hard _thunk_ and Katara tumbled right on top of him.

 _Way to go,_ he thought, _can’t even last five seconds on the ice._ Katara, now slightly damp from the fall, looked down at him and laughed.

“I’m glad you think this is so funny.” Zuko pouted.

“No, no, it’s not that.” He stared back at her in confusion. “I’m not making fun of you I just think it’s… cute. It reminds me of when I was little and I kept pulling Sokka and my mom down.”

She gave another slight chuckle and got to her feet. Zuko attempted to follow but just ended up falling again. He gave an exasperated sigh, threw his hands in the air, and resigned to laying flat on his back against the chill floor.

“If you’re ready to stop being so dramatic, I’ll show you how to get up.”

He gave her a pointed look but consented.

“You’re going about it all wrong. Here, get up on your knees first, put one skate out, then push on your knee to lift yourself up.” She gracefully fell to the floor and demonstrated, and he copied her movements. Now back on his feet, he reached out to Katara for support and she leaned into his side. He tried to take a few steps on the ice, but his feet kept sliding backwards.

“Try turning your toes out like a penguin.” Katara offered.

“A penguin? Katara I’m from the Fire Nation how many penguins do you think I’ve seen in my life?”

“Okay, fair point. Just like… this!” she reached down and pushed his toes out slightly. “There! Now try little marching steps.”

He moved his feet slowly and felt very stupid and crooked but surprisingly her pointers worked. They made it around the ice three times, and he didn’t fall at all.

He smiled up at her, “Hey, I think I’m getting it!”

“Ready to try without me?”

‘No!” he said, a little too quickly and he held on to her hand a little harder. Agni, he felt so ridiculous!

“It’s okay Zuko, you’ve got this!” She gave his hand one last squeeze then let go. Zuko continued pushing against the ice with tiny strokes and braced for what he was sure was an inevitable fall, but he stayed on his feet. He looked back at Katara and she had the biggest smile on her face.

“See I told you! You’re not half bad.” She skated over to him and pulled him into a kiss. Zuko though, already barely standing as is, immediately lost his balance and fell on top of her.

“Agni, are you okay?” He looked down at her and flushed red with embarrassment. “I’m sorry I keep falling like an idiot!”

She gave him another laugh and said, “I’m fine Zuko, and you’re _not_ and idiot. Besides, I’ve taken way worse falls than this and honestly, if I’m falling with you, I don’t really mind.”


End file.
